How nature of combat operations on front lines will change with onset of cold weather: Expert opinion
Photo: Ukrainian soldier (Getty Images)
With the onset of cold weather, Russian forces may reduce the intensity of ground operations. However, to maintain their offensive, they are likely to increase air attacks.
This is mentioned in the material by RBC-Ukraine titled On the brink of new battle: Frontline perspectives before winter and possible gray zone expansion.
According to military expert Oleksii Hetman, before the onset of frost, the Russian forces will press as hard as their strength allows. However, due to weather conditions, they may reduce the intensity of ground operations, and to maintain pressure, they will likely increase air attacks.
"There is information that the resources for offensive operations have nearly been exhausted after six months of fighting. Not human resources, but overall resources. Simply adding more troops cannot increase offensive capabilities. They would need to stop and re-prepare, as they did before," he emphasized.
Regarding potential surprise strikes to break through the front in a specific location, the expert stated that the probability is close to zero.
"How can the enemy break through the front when they have nothing to do so with? When our Kursk operation began, they immediately pulled troops from the Kharkiv direction. Now they're talking about North Koreans. If they had reserves, why would they pull troops from the front? If they had to do all of this just to stop our advance, it means they simply have nothing to cover the Kursk section. Therefore, I don't see any preconditions for a breakthrough. The Russians don't have the resources for this, otherwise, they would have used them," Hetman noted.
Russian troops are not preparing for winter
Recently, the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that Russian troops are not preparing for winter on the front lines. Instead, they are trying to achieve their objectives in the Donetsk region before the frost sets in.
In particular, Russian forces are using artillery, FPV drones, and other available means of attack in hopes of achieving some objectives before the cold weather.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces, unlike the enemy, are taking measures to prepare for the upcoming winter. As a result, it will be much harder for the Russian troops to storm Ukrainian positions once the frost arrives.
